Ramblings of a rogue retiree

Right down in the heel of the boot … Southern Italy

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There were no filters used in these photos …. Isn’t it gorgeous!! Sant Andrea on the west coast right down the bottom or Italy.

….We caught the ferry into Brindisi and I was so glad that we booked a cabin because the boat was full of gypsies and I couldn’t have thought of anything worse that trying to stay awake so that I wouldn’t get robbed. So we managed a couple of hours sleep before disembarking at about 9 am. We managed to get a bus to the train station and then a 30 minute train to Lecce.. Then about a 20 minute walk to find the bed and breakfast which turned out to be great. So quite a journey from Kalithea. Unfortunately I woke up with a sore throat and realised pretty quickly that I was getting another dose of the flu. This time I just started taking antibiotics immediately … three bouts of the flew in three months was just too much and I had had enough.

We wandered around thencity in the afternoon and tried to find a restaurant but it was too early for dinner so had to have pizza and gelati … bugger! Ha!

The next day we took it pretty easy. I spent most of the day in bed which I think has really helped this time around. Luckily it hasn’t gone to my chest … just throat and sinuses.

Sunday evening we expected it to be quiet but there were people everywhere. I had forgotten about the Sunday night ritual in Italy where couples of all ages go out for a stroll and have a drink or an ice cream. The older people get dressed up to the nines and they look gorgeous.

Lecce is a lovely town with great little alleyways with gorgeous buildings tucked away. There are about 95000 people … a number that we have found is great for a city. Big enough to be really interesting but not too big.

We left there this morning, after John had gone and hired car, and drove to the coast which as you can see from the photos above is gorgeous.

South of Sant Andrea we headed into Otranto where we had a great seafood lunch. We ran into two couples that we had met in Lecce. A Slovenian couple that were staying at our B&B and a French couple that we were chatting with in Lecce at lunchtime yesterday. There really aren’t many tourists around yet so it is great. The weather is really starting to warm up … I had shorts and a light long sleeve tshirt on today and it felt great. So sick of wearing heavy clothes all winter.

From there we headed to the very bottom of Italy … Santa Mariia Di Leuca … where the Adriatic and Ionia seas meet. Then we headed in the direction of Gallipoli … yes there is one in Italy too … but bypassed it by a couple of klms and we are now staying in a funny but great hotel in a small town on the coast. We wandered along the Main Street along the beach and went to a very authentic seafood restaurant. Plastic tables, chairs, forks and paper tableclothes with the menu printed on it and had calamarri and sea urchins … which I have never had …. mmm interesting. You dip your bread in. Don’t think I will bother again. Very strong sea taste.

Tomorrow we will go back and have a look at Gallipoli and then keep heading up the coast.

I love this knitted cactus outside a shop in Otranto … very clever … it drew me into her shop!!

This beautiful mosaic floor “the tree of life”a in the Duomo in Atranto was produced by a monk in 1162 … isn’t it gorgeous!!